Secumd scammed me into making new accounts which hurt my credit score

[Subexistence]

Austinguy,

I got discover only 2 months ago and its a secured account so I haven't asked for credit limit increase yet.

How can I even be sure it factors into my utilization rate if it doesn't even factor into my credit limit?

Vantage displays 4 accounts total so it must be calculated into my score. There is no doubt that I will be disputing this duplicate.

Well I consider it 4 rather than 3. As for whether the discover limit, I trust you, but I want above 760 credit score by the end of 6 months. I had 709 by the end of the first month so it's definitely possible to get 760.

I do not have fico at all because my history is 2 months old. Creditwise and creditkarma place my score at 642.

thank you for your response

[austinguy907]

Ok, so Discover is secured and should be eligible for conversion at month 7 as they have a new policy in place.  To boost your score quicker you might consider putting more money into it to give you a higher limit which will offest your utilization if you have any balances.  Also, when it converts there's been several instances of a CLI on it at the time it converts.  So, the higher the better to their max of $2500 if possible.  So, if you don't have a FICO then FAKO it is.  Hit the sites I listed before since they offer monthly or sooner updates on your FAKO scores each month.  The Discover one will offer EX as the Discover online account one is TU and those are both FICO scores which will help down the road for making decisions.

[Subexistence]

Austinguy,

You managed to predict me spoton. I did intend to ask for a limit increase by the 7th month once my fico score was out. Although from what I'm aware, I think the automatic upgrade happens after 1 year rather than 7 months. I will definitely check those sites out.

Do you have any advice on what I can do to dispute my PLOC account dropping my score? I mean their contract didn't say it would do this and they should responsibly put it on their contract. Maybe that fact alone givesme some legal recourse.

[Anonymous]

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@Subexistence wrote:

Austinguy,

You managed to predict me spoton. I did intend to ask for a limit increase by the 7th month once my fico score was out. Although from what I'm aware, I think the automatic upgrade happens after 1 year rather than 7 months. I will definitely check those sites out.

Do you have any advice on what I can do to dispute my PLOC account dropping my score? I mean their contract didn't say it would do this and they should responsibly put it on their contract. Maybe that fact alone givesme some legal recourse.

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Hi Subexistence. At just 18 years old you are already so far ahead of the game. I wish I had been as aware at your age. 

The bank is not responsible for your score or for how their accounts affect your score. You really don't have any course of action with that. However, with your young and thin file you have to take the new account hits to grow. New accounts will drop your score, but you can't move beyond without those new accounts. Also, although CK and the other vantage reporters consider the accounts new for 2 years, they will not hold your score down for the full 2 years. Keep making your on time payments and your score will start to rise again very soon.

If by automatic upgrade you mean your discover unsecuring, it used to be at 1 year but recent reports from myficoers and discover reps they have talked to say that they have shortened it to 7 months. 

[austinguy907]

Discover has a new policy in place where they start looking at things after 7 months.  There's nothing automatic about it though when it comes to converting to unsecured.  

As to the bank issue..... I'd hold onto them until your scores jump and then start shopping for replacements with other banks or CU's.  No need to rush into it with closing or picking a fight with them over it.  When your scores / limits are higher then you have more power when it comes to picking up more credit and not getting into situations like this.  

[Kenny]

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@Subexistence wrote:

Austinguy,

You managed to predict me spoton. I did intend to ask for a limit increase by the 7th month once my fico score was out. Although from what I'm aware, I think the automatic upgrade happens after 1 year rather than 7 months. I will definitely check those sites out.

Do you have any advice on what I can do to dispute my PLOC account dropping my score? I mean their contract didn't say it would do this and they should responsibly put it on their contract. Maybe that fact alone givesme some legal recourse.

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Stop viewing things as a scam or that you need to dispute things. You need to read, read, read. Right now, you're lacking information on how credit works, what you can do to better your credit, what the different scores are, etc. The forum can be a fountain of knowledge if you let it be. With all of that said, you're doing great. Credit is a long marathon, not a sprint. Lay a great foundation and make solid decisions along the way, and you'll be set when it comes to making the largest purchases of your life.

[Subexistence]

Hi tidegirl,

Thank you for your compliment. 

Could you explain how long my new accounts would hold me down for?

Good to know about discover doing that. Also do I have any control over how much they raise my credit limit? I was hoping I'd get a chance to explainmy tutoring job as acollege student that pays higher than my previous job which I put down on my discover application.

[Subexistence]

Hi Austinguy,

It's nice to hear that Discover does that. Hopefully by 7 months, I have like a 760 credit score.

When I get a higher credit score, I'm definitely chosing a better credit card company.

[Subexistence]

Hi Kenny,

While I agree with you that being informed through reading is great, I do think there are unique situations that aren't covered by online articles and a discussion should be created in such a situation. I think it can even be helpful for those in the future who run into my situation to be able to read this thread. If you tried to search up information about PLOC counting as a new account but not adding to credit limit, I guarantee the information online already is insufficient and lacking. You say I'm lacking in information and yet I'm doing great; what is your basis for those 2 assumptions? I disagree with your statment about my progress because a 642 credit score is considered very bad and it's the reason that I made an account here and made a discussion here as well. That being said, I will read online what I can read but if I can't find the answer,I will discuss it.

[azguy13]

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@Subexistence wrote:

Hi Kenny,

While I agree with you that being informed through reading is great, I do think there are unique situations that aren't covered by online articles and a discussion should be created in such a situation. I think it can even be helpful for those in the future who run into my situation to be able to read this thread. If you tried to search up information about PLOC counting as a new account but not adding to credit limit, I guarantee the information online already is insufficient and lacking. You say I'm lacking in information and yet I'm doing great; what is your basis for those 2 assumptions? I disagree with your statment about my progress because a 642 credit score is considered very bad and it's the reason that I made an account here and made a discussion here as well. That being said, I will read online what I can read but if I can't find the answer,I will discuss it.

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I agree that this thread could be helpful for future discussions on this matter. However, just like in cases of breaking the law, ignorance of the rules is not an excuse for legal action. Personally, I believe that one of the largest issues we have as a country is not educating high schoolers on  finance and credit. That is the perfect tie and age to clear u credit misconceptions and really lay a great foundation for success. 

Compared to most 18 year olds, you are doing fantastic. You are taking the time to read up on how credit works and how you can build up your report for the future. That in itself is a great thing. Also remember that you don't start out with a score in the 700s. You are exactly where you should be at this point with such a short AAoA and lack of tradelines. A 642 is not very bad. You can still purchase a house with that middle score, you can get a reasonable rate for an auto loan, and you can still get decent unsecured credit cards (based on the score alone. Often times thickness of report is a factor). 

I'll put it this way... I have seen MANY college studens in the 500s and low 600s. For your age, you are doing quite well.